That sunshine and butterflies post you’ve been asking for!
Jul 18 2008
OK, I really do have something happy to report!
Remember Footloose, the auction rescue from last year? Here she is. Her whole plan has changed since I last talked about her because (a) we found out she was not breeding sound (probably why she got ditched) and (b) nine months off sitting in the pasture and she’s completely sound to ride (she looked off at the sale). So she has a new future now – my friend who posts here as Princess Jess has just purchased her and is going to start retraining her. If all goes well, she may even be an eventer!Thanks to our friend Laurie who is providing some interim boarding for her until Jess moves to her new barn. Laurie has just rescued a
nine million year old Arabian mare and she and Footy are keeping each other company! (That is her big ol’ tail in the pic) Yay Laurie! The nine million year old Arabian mare is looking for a forever home, so if you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, e-mail Laurie for info.Miss Lucy, the recent auction rescue, is over with Stephanie Korhel now and she is working with her. She reports that Lucy is very sweet (yes, she is!) and she is doing ground work with her. I’m sure Lucy is broke but at this point we’re going to try to get over some of the headshyness and the fear of things touching her butt before we move to under-saddle work. She is also available for adoption. Lucy is in Enumclaw, Washington.
If you’re in the Seattle or Portland area and interested in a companion horse, I know of quite a few Quarter Horses that are available for a year lease. This is kind of a nice scenario, as you’re not stuck with them forever – if you need a short-term, returnable companion, e-mail me. A few are broke/rideable, two have good open show potential and one of those has been successfully shown by a youth. Purchase possible on some of them if you fall in love, terms possible. Site check/contract/no barbed wire, the usual conditions apply.
Now something for the AUSTRALIANS: I have had an inquiry from someone trying to fatten up an old TB mare in Australia. Problem is, she is talking about feeds I have never heard of, so I feel clueless! Can you Aussie senior horse pros give her some advice as to what to feed an old girl? She is currently getting 4 kg. of Mitavite Gumnuts senior feed and 2 biscuits of lucerne hay daily. (Gumnuts? Biscuits? WTF? I’m an American, I’m lost!) They’ve done the teeth, deworming, etc. What would you recommend, that is available in Australia?
Here is a Friday Featured Rescue for you East Coast folks. This is a Re-Run mare in New York. I really like this mare and just from looking at her, I will bet she is very smooth gaited and great to ride. They say she is an alpha mare under saddle, so you need to be confident enough to be the boss, but has great ground manners and can be handled by anyone. She looks like a wonderful prospect to me and has a great name…Hoochie Mama. LOL! She’s just $500 – go and get her. I see a $5000+ mare here with just a bit of training effort on your part.
Have a GREAT weekend everybody and good luck on your shows/trail rides/training!
One comment to “That sunshine and butterflies post you’ve been asking for!”
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hi there, I’m an Australian and have heard of the Mitavite feeds, but haven’t tried them personally. By biscuit she means the sections hay bales normally break into. When you get a bale of lucerne and trim off the twine holding it together, it will normally fall neatly apart into little sections, these are biscuits by Australian slang.
The feed I see the most around stables is Hygain, but the one that the girl is using currently “Mitavite” has a good reputation and range. I don’t know why Mitavite isn’t helping her keep her weight on, I don’t think its cos of crap quality, but there’s no harm trying another brand, as long as she phases it in slowly.
In my experience though, Hygain is good too. They have heaps of different feeds for different needs. Here’s a link to their senior pre-mix feed.
http://hygain.com.au/index.php?page=equine-senior
I worked in a racing stable for a while (before the 4am starts half killed me) and that was what they fed their TBs, young and old. I know you’re probably thinking “Racing stables don’t have horses over 7!” but they did have a few older horses that they called their ‘ponies’, in other words, favourites that the staff didn’t want to see go.
But yeah, I would really recommend getting a weight gain supplement too like “HiForm”. When the previous owner of my gelding resued him he was skin and bones, and that stuff really helped him put weight back on, and now he’s a huge muscly thing!
Here’s a link to a really good online store for Australians. It has lots of supplements and vet products, but unfortunately doesn’t stock regular feed.
http://www.horsesuppliesdirect.com.au/category239_1.htm
Here in Australia we have a terrible drought going on, grazing is poor in most places and recently in Victoria (south end of oz) there were terrible bushfires, leading to a lot of people having to sell their horses… all I can say, with that considered is I sure hope the weight gain supps work, cos the native grazing isn’t likely to!